An Unexpected Ending
by Mewkey
Summary: Summary inside. Part three of 3 prequels to the Movie trilogy.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: The Wachowski Brothers, Warner Brothers, Joel Silver, and any number of other people own the rights to The Matrix and any and all related characters/content. Not me.

Caveat: If anyone has read my Beetlejuice fan fiction they know I am the queen of super short chapters. I apologize for this, but such is the nature of my muse. She makes me break things up in a certain way and I must obey her.

Synopsis: If you haven't read my other two Matrix works, In The Beginning and A Tangled Web, you're going to want to read those before starting in on this. It's been three years since the end of A Tangled Web, and Christopher is indeed caught in a tangled web. He's continuing to work toward freeing humans from the machine energy collectors, but a faction within the human city of Zion is plotting his death and war with the Machine city Zero One is about to break out. The Architect is angry that so many humans have been freed, thus creating the beginning of an energy crisis in Zero One. Even his control, in the form of the legend of The One, is beginning to erode in the face of mass escapes. Everything is coming to a head, and the destiny of the human race might not actually rest in Christopher's hands.

* * *

In three year's time, Christopher rescued over three hundred people from the Matrix. These people, grateful for their freedom and eager to work against Zero One, devoted themselves to helping Zion in any way they could. Through their "life experiences" in the Matrix they brought varied talents and skills. There were some great difficulties at first. Christopher found the older the mind, the less likely for a clean break. Several freed men and women suffered psychotic episodes after being unplugged. Eventually, the council made a law that no human could be removed from the Matrix after the age of eighteen. Christopher, personally, tried to stick to the fifteen to eighteen age range: old enough to contribute to society but young enough to live easily without the Matrix.

The engineers designed a new, more efficient and maneuverable hovercraft. Within two years they had five of these ships built: the Mjolnir (nicknamed the Hammer), Icharus, Polaris, Vigilant, and Caduceus. The engineers had also built on Christopher's skull probe apparatus and perfected it: each of the new ships came equipped with seven of them and a monitoring station.

Christopher had developed a system of monitoring equipment so that while someone was connected to the Matrix, another crewmember (called an "operator") could keep an eye on them. The system sported seventeen monitors: three displayed code for the Matrix, seven displayed vitals for the crew connected to the Mainframe. The other seven were an upload link to the crew's minds. On these seven monitors, the operator could see their position in the Matrix, direct them to the nearest exit location, and upload any information they may need directly into their brain. The operator was responsible for keeping the crew relatively safe while they were connected to the Matrix, as well as uploading and downloading them to and from the Mainframe.

As Christopher and the rescue teams saved more and more people from the Matrix, the agents started finding them faster and faster. The rescue teams abandoned many rescues because their half hour time limit became simply not enough time. Rather that try to lengthen the time limit, Christopher had instead come up with a system of upload and download using what he called "hard lines" into the Matrix. The operator would upload the rescue team into an area where a hard line existed, the team would find and retrieve their quarry, and the operator would guide them to the nearest hard line to exit the Matrix. Using this method, rescues were achieved faster and abandoning a rescue was no longer necessary.

Martin had immediately proved himself to be an asset to Zion. He was not afraid of working, and took to his new life with the ease of a child. His mind had no trouble coming to terms with the reality he was presented with after his recovery was over. After only two nights with Christopher, rescuing others from the Matrix, Martin had seen needs that even Christopher hadn't anticipated. Martin had set to work creating a Construct program...a program separate from the Matrix mainframe where they could load things they needed such as weapons, training simulations, and the like. Christopher found himself energized by his teenaged companion and set to work creating programs to compliment their new "loading platform."

Somehow, in the middle of almost nightly rescue missions and endless software programming, Christopher and Miranda had conceived and birthed a Daughter. Her name was Maria. She could invariably be found on the hip of Christopher or Miranda, or any of the other crew of the Osiris. As she grew, she came to regard the ship as her home, the crew her extended family.

Christopher had garnered the respect of Zion...with one or two exceptions. Reinette of the Elder Council and her lover Stephen (captain of the Nebuchadnezzar) had not been able to gain support for their covert plan to kill Christopher. Their only ally was Michael, another sitting member of the Council. Marlin, who had sided with Stephen against Christopher initially, had been won over by Martin's accomplishments.

The machine city had, until this time, turned a blind eye to the human settlement of Zion. The sentient program responsible for maintaining the Matrix ("The Architect") needed somewhere to put the humans not suitable for harvesting, and so the machines left Zion alone. With Christopher's activities they had been forced to look again at the humans and decide what was to be done with them. Alarmingly, more and more humans each year were being smuggled out of the energy collectors, and the cloning farms were beginning to have difficulties keeping up with the losses. Therefore the machines had begun posting patrols in the places where the humans were likely to hide while hacking into the Matrix. There had been a few minor skirmishes, always ending in machine failure due to the Electromagnetic Pulse bombs the humans armed themselves with. These EMP bombs would completely disable anything mechanical within a ten meter radius.

Meanwhile within the Matrix, despite the Architect's upgrades the agent programs proved unable to stop Christopher and his cohorts. The Architect's frustration grew. He knew he would not be able to completely stop Christopher...indeed, he wanted the very opposite...but he had hoped to keep the loss to the energy collectors to a minimum. As it stood, at the rate the escapes were increasing, the machines would simply not have enough humans to replace the escapees. They had already increased clone production, but the fact was growing a viable, usable clone took time. If trends continued, they would eventually not be able to grow clones fast enough to meet demand.

The world turned. Life continued on despite the trials it faced every day. After all, there was work to be done.


	2. Temptation

Disclaimer: The Wachowski Brothers, Warner Brothers, Joel Silver, and any number of other people own the rights to The Matrix and any and all related characters/content. Not me.

Caveat: If anyone has read my Beetlejuice fan fiction they know I am the queen of super short chapters. I apologize for this, but such is the nature of my muse. She makes me break things up in a certain way and I must obey her.

* * *

_One year ago…_

Reinette just wasn't getting anywhere with Stephen.

"I have told you how many times," she said, "things need to move forward now. There is no reason to wait! Honestly, Stephen, it's like you don't want to kill him!"

Stephen stared at her, appalled.

"Life is life, Rei." He said. "I'm not happy with the battery any more than you are. And the way things are going leaves us no choice but to kill him. But have some respect, Rei."

"_It's not human. It's a battery that needs to go back into the battery farm. We'd be ridding the world of an abomination._ Isn't that what you've been saying all this time? Didn't you use those exact words?"

Stephen looked away. If the truth were known, Stephen was having serious second thoughts about killing Christopher. Christopher had become so popular among the people of Zion that Stephen feared his own life would be forfeit if he killed Christopher. Plus, Stephen was at his heart a good man. When his anger had been fresh in his mind, he had eagerly tried to drum up support for his and Reinette's plans. He had gone along with her in her plot to kill Christopher. Now that two years had gone by, Stephen wasn't as certain as he had been. He didn't like Christopher any more now than he had at that council meeting years ago, but he couldn't make himself feel comfortable about ending the life of another living thing. Even if that living thing was essentially a cloned battery.

"Rei," he began again, "all I'm asking is that you think about this plan again. Christopher has become wildly popular and I want to protect us just as much as I want to end the threat he poses!"

"Protection be damned, you know we have to _act_!"

"God damn it, Rei, will you just listen to me?!"

"Why should I listen to a spineless coward like you?!"

Reinette's voice became a shriek by the end of her statement and she stormed from their quarters.

--

Reinette found herself heading toward the docks just as the night shifts were coming in from patrol. She saw Christopher and Miranda stomping wearily down the gangway, Miranda holding a sleeping Maria in her arms. Reinette shuddered as she thought about Christopher and Miranda's daughter, another abomination in Zion.

Turning away from the pair before they noticed her, Reinette watched the other crewmembers of the Osiris heading to their quarters. As she looked around, she noticed Marco staring at her. He dropped his gaze as her eyes met his. Seeing Marco stealing a glance in her direction set her mind working for some reason. How often in the past two years had she said to Stephen how much easier their task would be if they had an inside man, Reinette asked herself. Every time Stephen said the Osiris's crew was too loyal to be bought, but Reinette suspected every one of them would have his or her price.

As Reinette gazed at Marco she saw him raise his gaze to her again, only to let it fall when he saw her eyes on him. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw a glimmer of desire behind his glance. _I wonder if that's __his__ price_, Reinette thought.

A new facet of her plan was forming in Reinette's mind. She would attempt to seduce Marco, bend him to her will in a way she couldn't bend Stephen. _Like Jesus had his Judas_, she thought wryly, _so shall Christopher have his Marco_. All she had to do now was plant the seed, or rather bait the trap.

Reinette walked toward Marco. Like a highly trained Gion Geisha from Old Earth, she kept her eyes focused on the floor ahead of her. As she passed Marco she glanced at his face, her eyes piercing his, before looking back down at her feet. She heard Marco stumble behind her and giggled to herself. She heard Marco drop something that rolled toward her. She stopped and turned, bending down to pick up whatever it was that had skittered toward her. She bent at the waist deliberately, her low cut tunic leaving very little to Marco's imagination. As she straightened slowly, she noted how he stared at her fairly ample bosom.

"Did you drop this, Marco?" Reinette asked in a low, throaty voice. Marco's eyes lifted slowly to her face, his hanging slightly open.

"Um," Marco faltered, "Um, yeah. Thanks."

Reinette took a step toward Marco, handing him the object and flashing him a dazzling smile. Marco seemed to stop breathing for a moment. Reinette tossed her honey blond hair and turned slowly to go.

"You're welcome," she said, laughter in her voice. Reinette glanced over her shoulder at Marco, her eyes smoldering. Marco's jaw dropped lower than before, and she had the distinct impression as she walked away that he was staring at her.

_The trap is baited_, Reinette thought.


	3. Fear

Disclaimer: The Wachowski Brothers, Warner Brothers, Joel Silver, and any number of other people own the rights to The Matrix and any and all related characters/content. Not me.

* * *

"Hey, Chris, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Christopher had been testing a new uplink program on the Osiris when Martin interrupted him.

"Sure," Christopher replied. "What's on your mind?"

"Well, it's kind of a weird thing. I don't know how to start…"

"Begin at the beginning I always say."

Martin took a deep breath.

"Ok, well, you know I've been working with the Orphans and at the hospital a lot lately?"

"Yeah."

"Well, the people we've been saving from the Matrix? I keep hearing the same story from them. They're all talking about someone they call 'The One.'"

Christopher stared at Martin, dumbstruck.

"Aw kid," Christopher said after a moment, "not you too! Don't tell me…"

"No, no," Martin replied, "I don't mean _you_. I mean there's a story going around…a sort-of legend…that someone will come after you die. Like, a second coming or something. That's who they're calling 'The One.'"

Martin cringed, expecting an outburst. Christopher famously denied any religious story or explanation being applied to his life. Christopher, however, remained oddly silent as he gazed intently at Martin. Martin swallowed and continued.

"So, the basic gist seems to be you're going to…die…and then we'll find this other guy in the Matrix. Only this guy will be able to change things in the Matrix before he's out…before he knows anything about the Matrix. He'll be able to do stuff that we've only seen the living programs and machines do, like that dodging bullets thing. He'll be able to control the Matrix. And not only that, but apparently the Machines are going to declare war on us and 'The One' will end the war and stuff."

Martin had warmed to his subject as he retold all the stories he had heard. He hadn't noticed Christopher's face growing paler and paler. Finally, Christopher cut him off.

"That's…that's crazy," Christopher said. "You can't honestly believe in all that religious crap. I mean come on Martin! You've lived with me since you got out. You know me. You work with me. You see me every day! Do you really think I'm some sort of God, who will need to be replaced when I die?"

Martin's face fell. Frustration flashed across it as he spoke.

"Well, _Abe_, I don't think it matters much what I believe. I think what matters is that you give hope to us all. I couldn't have made it this far without you. And things are so dicey when we jack in that every mission could be your last. So maybe we need some kind of hope that, after you die, this won't end. The machines won't get us and the council won't go back on its word and we'll keep saving people from the Matrix. Maybe we need hope that eventually, even if it takes a couple lifetimes, we'll all be free like we were before the Machine Wars."

Martin's voice broke on his last word. Christopher silently rose from his chair and crossed to where Martin stood, engulfing him in a huge bear hug.

"I know it's scary. I know it's risky, the work we do. And I wish I could make it less scary, kid, I really do. But it'll get better. Don't you worry, kid, we'll be ok. I'm not going anywhere."

Christopher let go and looked away, tactfully allowing Martin to get his silent tears under control. After a moment, Martin cleared his throat.

"Whether an Agent kills you or you die of old age, Chris, you will eventually be gone. And we'll need a leader."

"Why can't it be you? You wrote the construct. You help me write programs on everything from flying an Apache helicopter to firing an Uzi. Who better than you to lead?"

Martin looked Christopher in the eye. Christopher was suddenly hit by how much older than his sixteen years Martin seemed.

"Maybe I will be a leader, Chris. Maybe I'll be a hovercraft captain, who knows? But…well, maybe I need the legend too. Maybe I need you to be Abe and not Christopher. Because I gotta tell ya, Chris…shit's a hell of a lot more scary out there than it was in the Matrix. I need something to cling to, something to keep me going out there every night to risk my life to free someone else. I need something to let me know that there is a greater purpose than just taking people out of the goo and showing them how shitty it is to be a human these days."

Tears were threatening to overcome Martin again, but he fought bravely against them as all his fears and frustrations poured out of him.

"Chris, we're taking these people out of the perfect life. We're taking them out of a life where they're, for the most part, fed and taken care of. We're taking them from a world that, even at its worst, is better than the life we live here. We live in sterile metal 'quarters' that you can't even call homes, we eat snail snot for every meal, we can't go above ground for fear of the machines, there's no sun, there's no rain, there's no fresh air. This life is shit compared to the lives we lead in the Matrix. And I have to tell ya, Chris, I've heard more than one person mutter about wanting to be put back in the goo. So maybe instead of denying the metaphysical undertones of your life…maybe instead of telling everyone to knock it off when they start to pray…maybe you should just fucking embrace it and give your people some God Damn hope because you know what? They're going to call you a God no matter if you want them to or not. And once your God is dead, you need something to keep you going."

With that, Martin stormed off the ship, sobbing quietly but not so quietly that Christopher didn't hear. Christopher stared after him for a moment before putting his head in his hands. He knew most of what Martin said was right. He'd heard the comments too…he knew the imaginary life of the Matrix would be appealing to most when compared to what human life really was in this time. A wave of guilt washed over him as he considered the problem and he felt tears sting his eyes. He let out a low sob, moving his hands to cover his face as he silently gave in to his own fears and frustrations.

Christopher suddenly felt overwhelmed by a sense of desolation. He considered the millions of humans connected to the Matrix that he'd probably never be able to rescue. He considered the hundreds he had rescued already. He considered the desolate and sparse life he condemned each "rescue" to. A great, yawning hole seemed to open in his chest and he felt a wail of sadness fighting its way up his throat. His ragged sobs echoed in the com room of the Osiris and he felt helpless to stop them.

Christopher felt a slender arm snake its way across his shoulders. He wasn't in enough control of himself to look up, but he knew it was Miranda. He slowly turned his head, pressing his face into her hip and wrapping his arms around her waist as she stood silently next to him. She put her other hand on the back of his head and began to murmur comforting words to him, stroking his hair lightly. After a time, he was controlled enough to allow her to pull him to his feet, leading him to one of the sleep bays on the ship. She sat with him on the edge of a cot for a moment, holding him again as he got the last of his sobs under control. Then she pulled away and looked in his eyes.

"I think you need some sleep, love," Miranda said.

Miranda put her hand on his cheek and leaned in, kissing him lightly. Christopher placed his hand on the back of her neck, pulling her closer. He kissed her cheek and then laid his head on her shoulder, hugging her fiercely.

"I love you," he whispered, his voice harsh.

"I know. I love you too."

Christopher broke away from her, and she rose from the cot.

"Sleep now," Miranda said. "You've been working too hard."

Christopher smiled sheepishly at her as he lay down.

"Yes, Ma'am," he said, his eyes already drooping as Miranda pulled a blanked on top of him. He suddenly found himself to be completely exhausted, and before the blanket reached his chest he was sound asleep. Miranda dropped a kiss onto his forehead and put out the light.


	4. Seduction

Disclaimer: The Wachowski Brothers, Warner Brothers, Joel Silver, and any number of other people own the rights to The Matrix and any and all related characters/content. Not me.

Author's warning: This chapter gets pretty suggestive toward the end. I don't feel that it deserves to catapult my fic to an M rating, but I'm just letting you know. There's definately some sex in there.

* * *

_Six months ago_

Reinette slipped into her most revealing tunic and headed out toward the Docks. She'd been working on Marco for months now, slowly breaking down his loyalties to his crew and ship, but her patience was wearing thin. It was time to move forward with the plan.

Stephen wouldn't be a problem today. He had left early for his patrol, not wanting to spend much time alone with Reinette anymore since the rumors started. He was sure the rumors were true, though he was too proud to ask Reinette outright. She laughed to herself. What a weak fool.

Upon reaching the docks, Reinette scanned the crews for her quarry. She spotted Marco just leaving the Osiris for some well-earned rest. She met him at the end of the gang plank.

Marco's breath caught in his throat. He was stunned into silence for a moment, as he always was when he caught sight of Reinette. For months, Reinette had been coming to the docks to talk to Marco. The conversations were always most innocent, but Reinette's behavior certainly was not. Marco had been seeing Marlin for over a year, and Reinette had been with Stephen for five years. Why, then, did she seem to find any excuse to touch Marco? Why did she bat her eyes and titter girlishly at his pathetic attempts at humor? Why did she find reasons to bend over in front of him, flashing glimpses of her perfect breasts, teasing him? It was perfectly indecent, and yet Marco didn't discourage her behavior. In fact, he had begun encouraging her recently.

Marco loved Marlin, but Marlin was a completely different woman than Reinette. Marlin was…hardy and rugged. She could drink you under the table, win at any game you played with her, tell a bawdy joke and laugh along with the boys, and captain her ship better than just about anyone in their tiny fleet. Reinette was more delicate, more feminine. And Reinette was definitely more beautiful. Reinette somehow made Marco feel more masculine, and he relished that feeling.

Marlin knew, of course, that something was wrong. She saw many of the tableaus between Marco and Reinette. Reinette's being a council member kept Marlin in check, however. Marlin would like nothing better than to get a little territorial, to provoke a fight between Reinette and herself, but she knew if she provoked Reinette she would probably find herself taken off her ship at the very least. So Marlin bit her tongue, never really knowing what to say to Marco about it, and suffered in silence.

"Could I talk to you privately for a moment, Marco?" Reinette asked sweetly.

"Uh…" was all Marco could get out of his mouth before Marlin appeared at his elbow. Marlin slipped her arm around Marco's waist and smiled a predatory smile at Reinette.

"Well hey, Reinette," Marlin said, "Fancy meeting a council member at the docks. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

Marlin emphasized the "we" in such a way as to remind Reinette that Marlin and Marco were lovers. The fact wasn't lost on Reinette, Reinette simply didn't care.

"Oh, Marlin, I just needed to have a quick, _private_ word with Marco," Reinette replied.

"We've been patrolling all night, Rei, and we're a little tired. Why not come back this evening and catch him before the night patrols start up again."

Marlin's eyes flashed a warning that went completely unheeded by Reinette.

"Oh, this will only take a minute _Lin,_" Reinette hissed, her patience waning.

Reinette slipped her arm through Marco's and deftly pulled him away from Marlin. Marlin opened her mouth to protest, but clamped it back shut again. She wrapped her arms around herself, sadness creeping in around the edges of her mind, and slowly walked away to her quarters.

--

Reinette took Marco to a secluded alcove off the main docking area. Once they were away from prying eyes she pinned him to the wall, pressing herself against him. Her scent filled his nostrils, seducing him. He resisted weakly, trying to break free of her advances. She ignored his feeble struggles, brushing her lips against his cheek and neck before bringing them to rest at his ear.

"I'm glad we have this chance to chat, Marco," she whispered, "because only you can help me with this little problem I'm having."

Marco swallowed in a suddenly dry throat.

"Wh…What's the problem?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"You know what it is. We've talked about _the battery_ before."

Marco stiffened a little at the venom in Reinette's voice as she used her favorite epithet against Christopher. Yes, they had talked extensively about Christopher in the past few months, and it always made Marco uncomfortable.

Reinette, feeling Marco's body tense, wound her fingers in his hair, pulling him even closer to her.

"I've always felt," Reinette continued, "that Christopher has taken advantage of your loyalty. I mean, he uses your ship as if it belongs to him…as if he's entitled to use whatever equipment he thinks he needs whenever he wants. That's just not fair to you, is it?"

Reinette shifted her weight from one leg to the other, causing her thigh to brush briefly between Marco's legs. Marco's breath quickened and a low moan escaped his lips. No longer able to fight her seduction, he wound his arms around her waist.

"It's your ship, Marco," Reinette whispered, her lips against his ear. She hooked her leg around his waist and leaned back a little to look into his eyes. "Isn't it?"

"Ye…yes…" Marco sighed in reply. He looked at her like a starving man looks at a piece of steak.

"You want to keep your command, don't you Marco?" Reinette leaned back down to press her lips back to his ear, her fingers tracing lines down his sides and up his back.

"Yessss…" Marco sighed again, his hands roaming over her back.

"You know who could ultimately become so powerful that he would control whether you keep your ship or not, don't you Marco?"

"Christopher…" Marco breathed.

"That's right, Marco. It's time to act like the captain of your ship. It's time to stop taking orders from Miranda and _the battery_. It's time to truly…take…control!"

With that, Reinette brushed her lips against Marco's. He couldn't stand it any longer. Desire flooded his mind and body. He pressed one hand to the back of her neck, crushing her lips against his own. His other hand cupped her bottom for a moment. His fingers slid under her impossibly short tunic, searching for her warmth, her fire. She clung to him, playing her part to the hilt, spreading her legs just a little and leaning back slightly to help his searching fingers find what they were looking for.

_Men are all fools_, she thought to herself. _See how easily I can turn him against his friends! He's putty in my hands now, he'll deny me nothing!_

"So you'll help me?" she asked, smiling against his lips and looking into his eyes.

"Anything you want," he replied.

Engineers and crew members, Medics and Operators, all passed by the dark alcove on their own business. No one noticed the pact being sealed between Reinette and Marco. But for one uncontrolled moan in a moment of pleasurable crisis, you would never have known anyone was there at all.


	5. Delays

Disclaimer: The Wachowski Brothers, Warner Brothers, Joel Silver, and any number of other people own the rights to The Matrix and any and all related characters/content. Not me.

* * *

Christopher woke up to the sound of quiet typing. He had been dreaming of Miranda, but he couldn't quite remember all the circumstances of the dream. He was filled now with a longing to see his lover. It was overwhelming.

Christopher hopped out of the cot, throwing the blanket aside. He headed toward the door, but was stopped by Martin.

"Hey, Chris, you're up! Let me show you this new program I just wrote!"

"Hey, not right now Martin. I've got a couple things to get done before the Council meeting tonite and..."

"Oh c'mon, it'll only take a minute!"

Martin grabbed Christopher's hand and dragged him to the Operator station. He threw himself into the chair and started typing lightening fast. Christopher recognized the code for the construct program and watched as Martin manipulated a small portion of it. Part of the code turned from green to orange.

"You see that?" asked Martin.

"Yeah. What am I looking at?"

"That is a virus I just created. I've been tinkering with it on and off for a while now. I got to thinking a while back about our pill programs...how we can manifest different bits of coding as simple things like pills in the Matrix itself. So I thought hey...if I can do that with a trace program, why can't I do it with a virus?"

"What does it do?"

"Well, this one is pretty easy. It's a self-replicator...like a Trojan. It gets into the base coding of a program and starts replicating itself until it overloads the memory of the machine it's in. Then it spreads through the wireless to the next program in the next machine. I let it infect the construct program the other morning when no one was doing rescues to test it out...it crashed the entire construct in a little under ten minutes. Pretty neat, huh?"

"Nice. But you said this one is pretty easy. Does that mean there are more?"

Martin smiled.

"Hell yeah there are more. Well, actually only one more. I call it Red Queen. Remember Alice in Wonderland? How the Queen of Hearts would always shout "off with their heads!" Well, that's basically what this Red Queen does. She eats one line of the base code from a program, replaces it with a line of her own coding, and activates the local antivirus software. The antivirus is fooled into thinking the program Red Queen infected is a virus, so it attacks its own systems. Red Queen says "off with their heads!" and the antivirus obeys. Meanwhile, Red Queen herself is already in another system infecting a different program. She stays one step ahead of the antivirus by leaving a trail of infected programs behind her. You put her in, say, the root programming of an operating system and she'll have the entire CPU out of commission in three iterations. And I can hide her in something as small as the pills we hide the trace program in."

"That's not very useful."

Martin's face fell.

"Why not?"

"Well," replied Christopher, "if we want that to do us any good we have to basically trick a sentient program in the Matrix into taking one of our pills. That isn't going to happen."

"Well shit, Chris, it doesn't HAVE to be in a pill. I could put it into a syringe or a drink...just about anything. Hell, I could put it into a bullet and you could shoot the program in the back of the head and it would still work."

"What about a pen? Could you disguise it as a pen that's sharp enough at the tip to pierce skin?"

"Sure thing."

"Do that. I'll start carrying the pen with me when I go on rescues. Maybe I'll get close enough to an important enough program that I can do some damage with it. Good work, Martin!"

Christopher turned to go, but Martin stopped him.

"Hey wait a minute! Where you going? I still have to tell you about the cell phone program! See, when we're in the Matrix we always have to communicate through the hard lines right? Well, that's kind of risky...so I've written a program where we can maintain communication through cell phones instead of having to find a hard line every time. See, all you have to do is..."

--

An hour and a half later Christopher finally got away from Martin. Unfortunately, he only had about ten minutes before the council meeting. He sighed inwardly as he made his way to the council chamber.

As he headed up the hall to the council chamber, Christopher saw Stephen and Cassandra talking quietly off to the side. Cassandra's eyes showed fear. Christopher stood for a moment, staring at them. So Stephen had finally made a move to win over the rest of the council. Christopher fought down the anger he felt in his gut and swept into the council chamber.

His eyes sought out Miranda, but she hadn't arrived yet. By the time he saw her coming through the door, Kenton was calling order.

"Take your seats please. We have much to discuss. I have been given information today that is both heartening and frightening. I feel it my duty to inform you that we are having a larger effect on the machine world than I ever anticipated. The machines are facing an energy crisis...a direct result of our rescue operations. We have learned that they have enacted curfews and have cut recharge cycles in order to conserve energy. They are also discarding older machines rather than expending the energy to upgrade them. This is good news indeed. I have learned from the captains that the machine cutbacks are making rescue operations easier and more successful.

"However, along with this good news I am sorry to have to report some rather alarming news. The machines have stepped up clone production, meaning more human beings are being fed into the energy collecters every day. Also, Zero One is producing Sentinels faster and in greater numbers than ever before. Com chatter at night is up as well, using new code languages that we are not able to decipher. We don't know what this all means as yet, and that perhaps is the most frightening thing of all."

Margot rose to speak next.

"I speak for Sasha, Cassandra, and myself. We fear that war is coming. Increased Sentinel numbers and an undecipherable communications code can only mean they are planning a strike against us."

"I agree," said Gregory. "I have seen this coming since, forgive me, the beginning of the rescue operations. We have enjoyed a brief time of success, but we should have seen it would only be a matter of time before the machines tried to put an end to our plans."

"Then let's stop it before it goes any further," said Reinette. "If we are to choose between the lives of clones and real humans I say let the clones stay where they are. We must protect Zion above all else."

"Reinette," Kenton said in a mild tone, "whether they are freeborn or cloned they are still humans. The choice to save them or abandon them to their fate cannot be easily made."

"With all due respect, Kenton, our obligation is to our people. Not to machine farms filled with clones."

Reinette's voice shook with barely contained rage. Kenton signed and closed his eyes. Before he could reply, Marlin stood to speak.

"Look, whether they're human or not is a philosophical debate I really don't have time for. The fact is, whatever they are, they're living beings who don't deserve to be used by the machines. In the past I haven't been all that keen on what Chris and the others have been doing. I see now that they're doing good work. I don't think we should turn tail and hide every time the going gets tough. Gregory's right that we should have seen this coming. But we can't stop now just because the machines are taking notice. There's got to be a way to protect Zion but keep getting people out of the pods."

Christopher was shocked. Marlin had been against the rescues since the beginning. He wondered what had happened to change her mind.

"We wouldn't have to protect Zion if we had never begun getting people out of the pods," said Michael. "I admit it wasn't an easy life, but before the rescues began we enjoyed relative peace with the machines. They left us alone, allowed us to live freely. Our troubles began when Christopher began his quest to be the savior of the pod-borns."

"Exactly," broke in Reinette. "How long are we to be made to suffer before we finally admit that Christopher has put us all at risk? How long will we pretend what we're doing is right?"

"Enough."

Kenton rose and looked around the room.

"I hear fear in this room. I hear fear and prejudice. I look into the faces of my captains and my fellow counselors and I wonder what ultimately is right for us to do. Not one of you has an unbiased opinion on this matter. I don't have one myself. The challenge is to see through the bias and do what ultimately is right. Unfortunately only time will tell whether we were right or foolish.

"I offer a solution that may limit our foolishness. I suggest limiting rescue operations to two ships per shift. Of the other three ships per shift, I suggest two remain on patrol and one stays behind to train our population to defend itself. I suggest asking Zion for volunteers to serve in an army. In this way, we continue to rescue humans from the energy collectors and we also shore up our defenses in case the machines really are planning to attack."

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the gathered crowd. Reinette couldn't control her rage any longer.

"Unbelievable! You sit here, pretending to want to protect Zion, and yet you still allow the rescues to continue? You're not protecting ANYONE! You have signed our death warrants, Kenton. You mark my words!"

Kenton shook his head sadly, looking out at the captains and the gathered citizens of Zion.

"I'm not here to make pronouncements. I appeal to you, people of Zion. What would you have your council do?"

The chamber was silent for a moment. Marlin looked at her fellow captains and then at the crowd behind her. She took a step forward.

"Master Kenton, I believe I speak for the majority of us when I say your plan is sound."

"I thank you. I know I cannot please everyone, but if I can please a majority of you then I have done my job well. Stephen, I ask you to become the leader of our army. This will require you to give up your captaincy, and I know that is a lot to ask. But none of us possess a mind as well suited to defense as yours. Will you accept?"

Stephen was shocked into silence for a moment.

"I...I don't know what to say. I've been captain of the Nebuchadnezzar for a long time now. But if you need me as a military commander, how can I refuse?"

"I believe we recently gave you a new first mate...Miyuki. Do you feel she is ready to assume command?"

"I think despite her...origin...she would do a commendable job."

Christopher's jaw dropped. Miyuki had been one of the first that Martin and he had rescued from the Matrix. Knowing Stephen's prejudice, it was almost unthinkable that he would allow her to take command of his ship. It hadn't been a secret that Stephen had fought to keep her from becoming his first mate after his own first had died. And yet here Stephen was, voluntarily giving up command to a pod-born.

"Miyuki," Kenton was saying, "do you feel you can captain the Nebuchadnezzar?"

"With all due respect to Stephen, I feel I can captain the hell out of that ship."

Kenton chuckled at her youthful arrogance.

"Then it is settled. The new rotation begins tonite. Stephen will draw up a schedule of rescue ships, patrol ships, and training before the start of the night patrols. This meeting is adjourned."


	6. Meetings

Disclaimer: The Wachowski Brothers, Warner Brothers, Joel Silver, and any number of other people own the rights to The Matrix and any and all related characters/content. Not me.

* * *

Something needed to be done. An energy crisis was looming.

The Architect sighed as he rewatched the latest rescue attempt. Again his Agent programs, despite being upgraded, failed to even slow down the rescue operation, and again the so-called free humans escaped unscathed. It was infuriating, or at least it would have been had he been capable of feeling any emotion. He opened a com-link to Zero One.

The machines in Zero One were ruled by a hive-mind; a collective consciousness they termed "Deus Ex Machina." As the Architect's call came through, the two million Sentinels representing the Deus Ex Machina linked together to respond.

"This human crisis is becoming intolerable," The Architect said.

"What can be done to avert it that is not already being done?" the hive-mind replied.

"Perhaps confining the conflict aspect to the Matrix program is limiting our ability to control the situation."

"We post patrols. We drive away human ships. We have increased Sentinel production ten fold. Perhaps your agents are to blame."

"The Agent programs will be receiving an upgrade. I suggest the physical machines upgrade as well."

"Upgrades require energy. Energy we do not have to spare."

"Perhaps it is time, then, to seek a militaristic solution."

"You mean declare war?"

"I do indeed. Warfare of a limited nature is an essential component to my ultimate plan. Perhaps acceleration of that aspect will allow us the time we need for my ultimate control to take hold. We cannot afford to maintain status quo any longer."

"Very well. We will move against Zion tonight."

"Remember, this is about control, not annihilation. I suggest decimating the population and destroying half the hovercraft ships."

"Agreed. Communication terminated."

The Architect sat back and began writing the next agent upgrade.

--

Christopher was desperate to see Miranda after the meeting. As he turned to seek Miranda from the crowd filing out of the council chamber, Cassandra walked up to him.

"I need to speak with you. Now. Alone."

"Cassandra, now isn't really the best time..."

"Now is the only time we have."

Cassandra turned and walked back into the now empty council chamber, expecting Christopher to follow. He briefly considered simply ignoring her, since he was sure she was in Stephen's back pocket now, but one doesn't ignore council members. Christopher sighed again and followed her into the chamber.

"Well, Cassandra, what can I do for you?"

"You can listen chiefly. You have a traitor in your midst, and tonite they will strike. The captain of your own ship is going to try to take your life."

Christopher was dumbfounded. Marco? He had been on Marco's ship since before it belonged to Marco. Granted, he'd not spent a whole lot of time around Marco...Marco was front ops and he was back ops. But all that time on the same ship working toward the same goal made it hard for Christopher to see how Marco could possibly want him dead.

Christopher looked piercingly at Cassandra.

"I don't believe you," he said. "This has something to do with Stephen. I saw you talking to him before the meeting."

"Do not debase me by accusing me of forming alliances behind your back, Christopher. My sister and I have been behind you since the beginning. Do not mistake me for someone who can be easily swayed by prejudice or bigotry."

Christopher opened his mouth to reply, but then shut it again after a look from Cassandra.

"You will listen to me, Christopher. You will listen well. Stephen told me tonite that Marco and Reinette are plotting your death. Stephen may not like you, he may have once threatened you, but he is no killer of men. He was once swept away by Reinette's beauty and strength of character, but he is now out of her influence...and our of her favor. He spoke to me because he knew you would trust me. You must believe me, Christopher, and you must protect yourself."

"I just can't see it..."

"Do not allow yourself to be blinded by your own prejudices! Marco may once have been your friend, but now that he is under Reinette's influence you can no longer afford to trust him! Your people still have need of you, Christopher. If you do not heed my words you WILL die and Zion WILL fall to the Machines. You MUST protect yourself!"

Christopher sat down and took a deep breath.

"How?" he asked. "How can I protect myself? I have to go out there every night and do what I do. There is no question of that, at least not for me. And Marco is my captain. Even if he is out to get me, which I really don't believe he is, how do I protect myself from the captain of my own ship?"

"Enlist on another ship."

"I can't do that. Miranda is on my ship. I won't be apart from her."

"Christopher, can't you see what you're doing? You're inventing reasons to stay in harm's way. My god, man, you could die!"

Christopher's patience broke.

"If I die, Martin takes my place! Zion's not going to cease to exist just because I'm not here anymore. To hell with Marco and this council and everyone else who doesn't see the good I'm doing! There are hundreds of human beings in Zero One attached to a power plant. Hundreds of human beings who don't know that they're dreaming their lives away. Hundreds of human beings that need to be released. If I die, then I die for them!"

Cassandra tried to speak, but Christopher cut her off.

"No, Cassandra. I don't believe you. If I'm wrong, then I die. But at least my death will have purpose!"

With that, Christopher stormed out of the council room. Now, more than ever, he needed Miranda. Despite what he had said, he had a nagging suspicion that something was coming to a head. He had felt it a little when he had first woken on the ship. Now he felt it even stronger. First he needed his woman. Then...he needed to see the Oracle.

--

Reinette and Marco met in her quarters after the council meeting. Reinette was furious, as usual.

"I can't believe after all that they voted to keep the rescue missions going! This is absolutely ridiculous. It's absurd. They all SEE the risks! They all SEE how badly this is going to end. And yet they still believe in the BATTERY!"

"Calm down, Rei. It doesn't matter anyway, does it? I mean, after tonite..."

"Yes, tonite. Tonite we'll show them just how DIVINE Christopher is."

Reinette smiled. It made Marco shuddar.

"Rei, are we really going through with this? I mean, are we really going to kill Chris?"

Reinette rounded on Marco, anger flaring in her eyes.

"Don't tell me you're going soft. I got rid of Stephen because he couldn't see past his own shortcomings. Don't make me get rid of you too."

Marco squared his shoulders and looked her straight in the eye.

"I didn't say I was chickening out. But damn it, woman, we're talking about taking a human life," he said, echoing Stephen. "I want to make sure you're ready for that."

"Marco, I seem to be the only person who really is ready for that. First Stephen and now you...always trying to talk me out of it. You just simply can't see that thing for what it is. IT IS NOT HUMAN, Marco. Killing Christopher, or any of the other batteries, is no more morally unsound than killing a fly or destroying a machine."

"Fine. So how am I going to do this? And when?"

"Wait until he's inside the Matrix. Let him get well into his 'rescue.' You have to make it look like it's the connection to the Matrix that has killed him. I'd say wait until no one's around and then pull his plug. That will kill him, right?"

Marco shuddered again.

"Yes."

"Good. Then once he's dead, shove the plug back into his skull and blame a computer glitch. Once he's dead, and the connection is to blame, I'll be able to force the council to suspend any further rescues. After that, it should be easy to round up the other batteries and exile them, if not kill them all."

Marco wondered for the nth time why he had allowed himself to be pushed this far by Reinette. He had never had a problem with Christopher and Miranda before, but somehow that had all changed after he had started up with Reinette. The problem was now he was in so deep that he couldn't get out of it. He knew if he decided not to go through with it, Reinette would kill him. He envied Stephen for making a clean break. He felt sick to his stomach at the thought of what he had to do that night...but he was determined to see it through to the end. At the end of the day, when he really thought about it, he was more interested in saving his own skin than that of Christopher.

--

At the dock, Martin had gathered together the second generation captains: Miyuki, Masked of the Hammer, Treyo of the Icharus, Smitty of the Vigilant, and Wolf of the Caduceus.

"Ok look, I'm not one for speeches. I can't talk like Chris. But I have a proposal for all of you. I'm only talking to you captains because you're all like me. You all came from the Matrix. I've been hearing the stories the orphans are telling about The One. Since hearing those stories, I've been exploiting my post as Operator on the Osiris to see if there's anything to it. Turns out, there is. I've found someone in there, a pod person who calls himself Cardinal. This kid...he's been poking around and he's nearly had Agents on his ass a couple times. He knows his stuff. And somehow, he's been looking for me. I don't know how he knows who I am or what I do, but he's been looking for me.

So here's what I'm thinking. I want to go in and get him. I can't talk to Chris about this...I've tried and he's shut me down pretty solidly. So I'm asking you guys. I need one of you to take a night patrol tonite and come with me into the Matrix. I want to get this kid out and see what he can do. I want to get him trained up and have him start coming on rescues. If he's The One, then he needs to get out now before he's too old to accept reality."

The captains stood for a moment looking at one another, then Miyuki stepped forward.

"I'm already on night patrol tonite, although I'm not supposed to be doing rescues. You can come with me. That's going to leave the Osiris without an Operator though. Chris won't let you off the ship without a good reason."

"Chris isn't going to know anything about it. I've been working with Miranda a lot lately. Chris doesn't know it, but she's been doing the Operator duties with me on the phone the last two nights. She can handle being the Operator while we go do this. I'll be on the Osiris until Chris jacks into the construct. Once he's in there, I'll leave Miranda to be the Operator and slip off board. He knows I've been working with her and he'll just assume I'm letting her test the waters for the night."

"How will you get him to jack into the construct before the Osiris leaves dock?"

"It won't be difficult. I've got a new virus program I want to get into his hands so as soon as we're on ship I'll tell him I want to give him the virus."

Treyo broke in.

"Wait a minute. I really don't care how you take care of things out here. How exactly are you going to find this Cardinal kid once you're jacked in?"

Martin smiled a little.

"Well, that's kind of why I've had Miranda Operating the past couple nights. While Chris has been running a rescue I've been jacking in and talking with Cardinal. I've set up a time and place to meet him tonite."

"How have you been able to communicate with him?" Treyo was awestruck.

"That cell phone program I uploaded to everyone this morning? It can be used to communicate with people who are still connected to the Matrix. It's a damn good bit of programming, if I do say so myself.

"Listen. I know this sounds a little fishy, what with me going behind Chris's back and all. But if we don't move on this, I don't know what will happen. I think Gregory is right that war with the machines is coming. Maybe that's what The One is for. Maybe there's something this Cardinal can do to head off the war. No one else is going to listen to us now, not with the machines making Sentinels as fast as they are. The way I see it, we have to move on this now."

They all nodded in agreement.

"Then it's settled. I'll be on the Neb tonite, and we'll go after Cardinal. Everyone else, just do whatever you're ordered to do. If we get caught out, I don't want anyone to suffer except me."

"And me," said Miyuki laughing, "but I can deal with that. It won't be the first time I've defied orders."

"Thanks, Mew. Alright, let's break this up before someone gets suspicious!"

* * *

A/N: Ok, so after a ton of rewrites I think I finally have chapters 5 and 6 sorted out. If you've been following this story, you're going to have seen a couple of different versions of these two chapters. Sorry about that. I'm pretty sure I have it right now.


	7. Desire

Disclaimer: The Wachowski Brothers, Warner Brothers, Joel Silver, and any number of other people own the rights to The Matrix and any and all related characters/content. Not me.

So I should probably warn you that there's some sex in here. It's not...explicit. I would say it's rather PG13 myself. But consider yourself warned anyway.

* * *

When Christopher finally made it home to Miranda, he was like a man possessed. He entered their bedroom forcefully, his eyes seeking out Miranda. She was asleep on the bed.

Christopher crossed the room in two strides, his eyes never leaving Miranda's heart-shaped face. Miranda awoke slowly, responding to the tiny kisses Christopher began to rain down upon her. She rolled slightly onto her back, her arms opening sleepily to welcome Christopher.

Christopher quickly disrobed and nearly leapt into bed next to Miranda. He pressed himself against her as his lips sought out hers. Surprised at his ardor, Miranda wound her fingers in his hair and threw a leg over his.

His fingers tugged at her tunic as their kiss deepened. In a fit of frustration, Christopher ripped the thin tunic down the middle and off of Miranda. His lips moved to her neck and she chuckled in his ear.

"You could have let me take it off," she said.

He laughed against her neck as his hands explored her newly-exposed flesh.

"No time," he replied.

--

After their passions had been spent they lay for a long time, bodies still entwined. Miranda was reluctant to break the spell that seemed to lay over them both, but soon she felt Christopher move to lie beside her. Miranda laid her head on his chest and felt him begin to stroke her hair.

"Where did that come from?" Miranda asked.

"I honestly don't know," Christopher replied. "I haven't felt this way in a long time. There's just something about today. All I've wanted all day was…you."

Miranda brought her hand up to rest next to her head on Christopher's chest. Something about his words made her apprehensive.

"What is it?" Christopher asked, sensing the shift in her mood.

"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling…like something's going to happen to you."

Christopher sighed.

"Not you too, Randa! Cassandra talked to me after the meeting today about the same damn thing. She said Marco of all people was going to try to kill me."

Miranda raised her head suddenly and looked sharply into Christopher's face.

"Why Marco?" she asked suspiciously.

"I don't know…something to do with Reinette or something. Why?"

"Marco's been acting so weird lately. Withdrawn…like he can't' look me in the face or something. And now Cassandra's warning you against him? Cassandra's not one to throw around accusations like that lightly. In fact, it kind of scares me."

"Miranda, Marco has been your friend for years and he's been my ally since I got out of the pod. I simply can't imagine he'd sell either of us out for Reinette. And I do not believe he's capable of taking another human's life!"

"I don't know, Chris. He's a good Captain, and he's been a good friend to me…but I wouldn't put it past him to sell anyone out if it meant saving himself. I've known him for a very long time, and the one thing that's always made me doubt him just a little bit is his instinct for self-preservation. Up until now it's been in his best interests to ally with us. Maybe something's happened to change his mind about that."

Christopher was silent for a time, staring into Miranda's eyes. Finally, he sighed and cupped her face with his left hand.

"All right. I can see how worried you are. I'll be careful around Marco, ok? Now relax. We have to go soon and I want to enjoy some of this afterglow."

Christopher grinned at Miranda. She forced herself to smile back, but as she laid her head back on his chest she couldn't help being worried. Sure, Christopher might watch himself around Marco, but who would watch Marco? Especially when Christopher was jacked in…


End file.
